


Merry Eczemas

by CaitClandestine



Category: Fortnite (Video Game), Lachlan Power - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: F/M, M/M, a very itchy mitchy, cuddly boys as is the norm round here, more vegetable memery, the day after Mitchmas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:33:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21998326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaitClandestine/pseuds/CaitClandestine
Summary: Jake's first Australian Christmas and slip slop Lachlan's going to slap him.
Relationships: Lachlan Power/Morgan Kriz, Mitchell Power/Jake Wahlberg
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Merry Eczemas

**Author's Note:**

> look
> 
> i'm sorry this is entirely me projecting I AM SO ITCHY AND SO MAD ABOUT IT AND I DIDN'T EVEN GET A BEACH TRIP 
> 
> but great pun title right

Christmas morning finds him entirely content. Like, Jake's not sure it's natural to be as happy as he right now, waking up next to his gorgeous boyfriend after a very, very satisfying evening and the weather matches his mood, bright and sunny and admittedly a little confusing to his Canadian brain that's telling him it's Christmas, he should be freezing his ass off right now.

But he'd much rather watch Mitch's ass in his snug fitting board shorts by the pool or at the beach.

Mitch. He's still sleeping, arm thrown over Jake's chest, face resting sweetly against his pillow and despite the lure of presents downstairs Jake doesn't have the heart to wake him just yet.

Even though he's been sick and looks it Lachlan's actually hosting his first Christmas at his own house, puttering around quickly already organising things for lunch – although supervised by Morgan who's trying to get him to wait until some of the family turns up to drag all the heavy tables around and Jake can't help but linger by the tree, staring at the shiny decorations with a childish sense of glee, he fucking loves Christmas.

The morning goes by in a rush, presents opened and the photo-book Mitch gives him is absolutely the most romantic, beautiful thing anyone's ever done for him, a little collage of all their time together and it's a little bit terrifying that he might never want to let him go. They all coo over Otto opening his small mountain of treats and toys, both him and Mitch pointedly awwing over the very, very nice necklace that Lachlan's bought for Morgan and they lock eyes and Jake knows they're thinking the same thing, how'd they get so lucky with these boys.

Breakfast is more like brunch, homemade pancakes with a side of fruit that they all make sure Lachlan eats his fair share of – and then they're all pitching in to help with the organising, people starting to arrive and bringing delicious smelling food with them. 

There's a series of house tours, Lachlan looking proud as punch as he takes his family around as tablecloths are arranged and said delicious food set out and all the talk about Australian festive food is right, it's amazing and hows Jake supposed to go back to being cold when he's eating seafood in a t-shirt with a beautiful water view and the love of his life's knee resting against his?

It's apparently tradition to end up at a certain beach after they're all stuffed with food, everyone starting to roll out in organised chaos, Lachlan's great-grandmother changing into some kind of vintage swimming dress before she's escorted out by an aunt, children corralled back into cars until it's just the four of them, both fridges stacked full of leftovers and a trail of wrapping paper through the house. 

Mitch does change into some form fitting shorts, bringing a pile of towels into the kitchen as Jake liberates a Power hat to wear and then heads into the garage where they keep all the jet ski stuff for the giant bottle of sunscreen – Lachlan is the worlds most impulsive shopper and apparently a keg of the stuff was a great deal – he squirts out way too much, has to carefully carry the pool of it in his hand back to the kitchen.

“Hey, is that my stuff?” Mitch asks as he returns with a giant inflatable Australian-flag printed thong and Jake's got far too much for himself that he doesn't really think too much before agreeing, it's sunscreen, it's probably all the same, Mitch's special, expensive branded stuff coming from the same factory as Lachlan's bargain barrel.

He does Mitch's back and Mitch does his, both of them trying not to get too handsy with each other because they don't really have time to stop but they're thorough about it, Jake especially familiar with the sting of the Australian sun and Mitch an equally milky shade.

The beach is crazy, swarmed with people and every kind of inflatable thing ever – Jake so, so wants the dinosaur floaty ring he's seen like ten different kids with and the family Power is super organised here too, setting up giant umbrellas and laying down towels and blankets and plentiful esky's of drinks and ice blocks. 

Lachlan's banned from strenuous activities so after a quick dip in the water Morgan's guiding him back up the sand, dropping him off to rest up with the adults under an umbrella of his own and he whines playfully but as Morgan follows the other girls back down the beach he gives Jake a wink and says the view from where he is isn't half bad and Jake has to try really hard not to like, look look at her because he's not wrong, Lachlan's girlfriend every inch the model in her bikini although there's one of their male cousins over playing volleyball that's also looking especially handsome so at least he's not focused just on her. His heart belongs to Mitch and he definitely looks like a snack, showing off his swimming skills beyond the crest of the waves.

Eventually they tire of the relentless play-fighting, return to Lachlan and the cool, crisp cans of Coke he's in charge of distributing and Jake holds Mitch's for him while he scratches, catlike, at an apparent itch behind his neck.

“You look kind of red, please tell me you put on sunscreen” Lachlan says to his brother and sure enough in the shade Mitch does appear to be a soft shade of pink all over, grimacing when Lachlan reaches out to press a white mark against a pink calf. 

“I did” Mitch assures, “Probably just hot because we're actually doing stuff, quit poking me”

“I'd be doing stuff if you guys would let me” Lachlan complains good naturedly, “Actually mum said she'd let me swim later and you can't overrule her, she birthed you”

A few hours later and Mitch is definitely more pink, both of them standing chest deep on a sandbar when his boyfriend lifts his arms from around his waist to scratch at them, instantly drawing thick, red lines against his skin and then pausing, staring at them. 

“I'm really fucking itchy” Mitch announces, “I don't know how because usually the salt waters like, good for your skin and stuff but fuck, maybe i'm getting sunburnt or something, how long have we been out here?”

“Let's go and hang out in the shade for a bit” Jake suggests, “I'm tired of getting my ass kicked by these fucking huge ass waves”

This time it's Mitch's mum that stops them, frowning and reaching out for her son.

“You're having a reaction, look at you you're like a lobster” She states flatly, “You want me to take you home?”

“It's fine” Mitch says, trying and failing to push her hands away and subtly try to scratch as well, “Maybe it's just the heat, we're gonna hang with Lachy for a bit”

“Grab some ice from the esky” She calls after them, “Get a clean towel though!”

“Don't say it” Mitch barks at Lachlan as they join him, “I swear I put sunscreen on, I don't know what's causing it I literally haven't done anything different from when we went down to the point last week”

A sudden pit forms in Jake's stomach at the realisation that's it's him, he's done this to Mitch. He'd been so excited about Christmas, about them being together that he'd offered the regular sunscreen up without a second thought when Mitch had asked, failed to remember that Mitch has always said he's got sensitive skin, travels with his fancy sunscreen and moisturiser and shampoo whenever they visit each other and he's always been fine, Jake's never seen him be anything else but clearly he's not now. 

He wants to say something, own up but then Mitch is sitting down next to his brother and being covered in iced-towels and the words just aren't there. It's just a bit of a rash, he'll be fine once they stop running around and the sunscreen should wear off soon, right?

“You need to go home” Lachlan says seriously, “I'll drive you if you want, m'sure Uncle Mark would love to drop the Nismo back for you”

“No, I got it” Mitch replies, turning to him, “You can stay if you want, I have a date with a cold shower and some itch cream it's not very fun”

“Of course i'm coming with you” Jake assures, not least because of the horrible weight of guilt on his shoulders, “I can even carry you up the beach if you want”

The drive home is quiet, music playing but it's low, Mitch's knuckles white from his grip on the steering while like he's holding on for dear life, the redness of his skin looking so much worse than it had by the water and Jake can't see his eyes through the sunglasses he's wearing but everything about his face says how unhappy he already is and again Jake can't find the words to confess how it's all his fault. 

Mitch'll be upset and fuck knows what Lachlan's going to do when he finds out, Jake had taken Mitch four wheel driving in Canada and he'd gotten a tiny cut on his head from hitting the roof of the truck on a sudden drop and the older brother had nearly come for him in the night, absolutely furious about the apparent lack of safety and care he'd taken when Jake hadn't even been the one driving and look, he had respected the protectiveness you have for family and resolved to keep Mitch safe from then on. 

His boyfriend shakes his head when Jake asks if there's anything he can do, just disappears into the bathroom and Jake faces an agonising wait for him to come out, hopes he's feeling better and that the cool water will help.

Instead, Mitch comes out in his boxers looking even worse, clearly been scratching under the spray and he digs through his drawers and tosses an assortment of containers of what seems to be skin cream onto his bed.

“I'm sorry, I know I look really awful right now you don't have to stay in here while I put all this on” He says quietly, which absolutely breaks Jake's heart. Mitch is apologising for having a rash that he gave to him. 

“It's my fault” Jake blurts, “I'm the one who's really fucking sorry Mitch I swear, if I had known this would happen I wouldn't have given it to you”

Mitch's attitude changes in an instant, expression narrowing. 

“Wouldn't have given me what?” He says cautiously, “Jake, what?”

“The sunscreen, it wasn't yours it was from the garage I didn't think okay, until you said how nothing was different from last time and then I knew it was that, i'm so, so sorry”

“But i've told you” Mitch sounds more confused than angry, “You know i'm sensitive to pretty much everything, always use my own sunscreen and I asked you, I asked you if it was mine and you said yes, why would you do that?”

There's a note of hurt to his tone that kills Jake even more.

“You said it was mine” Mitch echoes softly, after a few seconds of Jake unable to find any words to say because what do you say, there's nothing he can do to fix this.

“I'm sorry” He offers up helplessly again, “I know you've told me but I didn't think it would be this bad, it's never happened before”

“It's never happened because I only use the things i'm supposed to” Mitch snaps, hand running through his hair and then unconsciously scratching at it too, “You know how long it's been since I flared up like this, actual fucking years, that's why it's never fucking happened and now it's this and it's fucking everywhere”

“It'll clear up in a couple of days though, right? It's just a rash”

Jake apparently would not like to return from Australia after this, no idea why the fuck he'd say that until it's already out of his mouth. Mitch just seems so mad suddenly, angry in a way that he never is. 

“It is not just a rash, you're just an asshole” Lachlan's voice floats from the doorway, looking murderous and how long he's been there Jake almost doesn't want to know, how quietly he must've entered the house probably in a plan to catch him out and at this point it's not like Jake doesn't deserve it.

“Lachlan, don't” Mitch starts but Lachlan just hushes him with a finger.

“I'm going to set up in the kitchen, you look awful and you're going to let me help” He states flatly, “Either I do it or I call mum back over, any complaints?”

“No” Mitch mumbles and Lachlan seems satisfied with that, giving Jake one final glare before he leaves. 

“He's right, i'm an asshole and i'm really fucking sorry” Jake repeats, “Mitchell”

“I have eczema” Mitch says quietly, “And i'm allergic to few things that are in most skin products, especially sunscreen and you're right, i'm usually fine because I grew out of the worst of it and I only use things without those ingredients but if I have a reaction to something it triggers it to flare up and they both have a great time making me look like fucking Red Skull and I get that you're sorry, that you didn't mean to but it really doesn't help and I get mad when i'm itchy, you can get Lachy to confirm”

“Pretty sure he gets mad when you're itchy too” Jake ventures and he wants to hold Mitch, cuddle him close in apology because that's how he is, always wants to touch and now he literally can't and he doesn't know how else to express himself, ready for Mitch to keep on yelling at him and honestly surprised when he gets a small smile instead. 

“We're both very mad right now” Mitch confirms, reaching out to gently shove at Jake's shoulder, “We'll both be less mad when he helps me with all the creams and we drug ourselves up for a nap, promise”

Morgan's nowhere to be found when Jake very, very sheepishly follows Mitch out to the kitchen again, carrying his tubs of cream for him while Mitch has an ancient plastic box covered in Pokemon stickers. 

“Left her with the girls, they're going out kayaking” Lachlan says when Mitch asks, “Don't worry, she said she'd be back by dinner to make sure I don't just eat the good leftovers”

Lachlan's got a sheet folded on top of the tiles by the kitchen bench, a large bowl of water beside it, portable fan pointed towards them and Jake deposits what he's carrying down beside it as Mitch seems to sigh heavily and sits himself down on the material, Lachlan taking the tub from him and offering Jake what's almost a snarl when he tries to kneel down to Mitch's left.

“Be nice” Mitch prompts, “Please, it's Christmas and he didn't mean to”

“Fine” Lachlan huffs and he looks exhausted, clearly tired out from the excitement and the long day and Jake feels awful for affecting him as well, knows he's supposed to be avoiding any kind of stress to give his body a proper shot at fighting the infection that's been plaguing him. 

“Wash your hands” Lachlan directs him, shoving a bottle of antibacterial hand wash towards him, “Don't touch him if they're not clean”

Jake does so, then sits back on his haunches and watches. There's probably nothing he can do and he's not sure he wants to interrupt what seems like such a practised thing between the brothers, Lachlan grabbing a thin tube of cream and spreading some across his fingers before he offers some to Mitch to do the same.

They work in silence, an unspoken routine no doubt, Mitch doing his face and arms where the red seems worst, Lachlan starting at his feet and working his way up and then getting his back as well before they change to a much larger tub and start applying it a bit more liberally and Jake gets the reason for the sheet, otherwise Mitch would likely start sliding across the floor.

“Don't you dare” Lachlan chides when Mitch tries to casually scratch at a thigh while he's behind him and Mitch whines, pauses for a minute and clearly decides fuck it, he's going to scratch anyway, which is both adorably sassy and horrible because he must be really, really fucking itchy. 

He half-expects Lachlan to yell but he doesn't, just grabs Mitch's wandering hands and tugs them towards Jake's own to hold and they're hot as Mitch wiggles their fingers together, shiny and slippery with cream and squeezing his own as Jake tries to offer a reassuring smile. 

Lachlan goes back to work, now opening the box and dumping out a small mountain of gauze, tearing open a bunch of the packets and prodding them into the bowl of water, swirling them around before wringing a roll out and reaching for one of Mitch's feet. 

Jake's not sure what he's doing, watches with interest as the wet bandage is wrapped around Mitch's ankle and then starts to spiral up his leg, Lachlan wrapping several layers each time before going back for more rolls.

“This was a lot quicker when you were smaller” Lachlan says quietly, wry smile on his face. Mitch just hums, compliant when Lachlan reaches the top of his thigh and starts all over on his other leg. 

It's a steady process, Mitch's arms following and he whines again when he has to let go for Lachlan to wrap the bandage across his palms and Jake wonders if it's hurting him, this trying to help. 

Lachlan somehow fashions a bandana, curls it loosely around Mitch's neck before he stops short, silently disappearing upstairs. 

“You okay?” Jake ventures, “Does this help, making you a mummy?”

Mitch laughs a little. “Yeah” He says, “It's really cooling, I used to be like, completely covered in wraps as a kid I think there's pictures somewhere, it was a shame we don't have Halloween here it would've been great”

Mitch's chest and back are still exposed, still a bright shade of red that looks uncomfortable and he's about to ask about it but Lachlan returns with the answer, a thin white t-shirt that he drops into the last of the water, helps Mitch put over his head and then follows it with a larger long sleeved dry one, leggings to match and a pair of socks as well.

The fan gets turned off and Mitch grumbles.

“Go find your pills” Lachlan prompts, turning off the fan and starting to tidy up.“Then how about you eat a vegetable to make you feel better”

“Fuck off” Mitch says, flipping him off but going anyway, leaving Jake alone with Lachlan which despite Mitch's warning might be dangerous.

“If it wasn't Christmas” Lachlan says darkly, “I swear”

“I get it, trust me” Jake replies quickly, “I'd take it back if I could, you know i'd never want to hurt him”

Lachlan gets in another solid, quality glare before he relents. 

“Christmas and the fact that i'm too tired to drag your body anywhere” He adds, not as vicious this time, “You need to take him back to his bed and keep him warm, it sounds crazy but because the wet layers bring the swelling down and help the cream stay on he can get too cold really quickly even though it's summer”

“You should stay with him, he won't stay with me if he's worried about what you're doing” Jake offers, still a little blindsided by Lachlan's actual not murdering him, holiday season or not – he must be so fucking tired to not want to fight him even a bit, actually offering to let him even be near Mitch right now is impressive. 

“Group power nap” Mitch announces upon his return, a small stack of boxes of tablets in hand that's almost enough to rival Lachlan's also sitting on the kitchen counter. He goes to the fridge, grabs two bottles of water and holds one out. 

“Don't think i'm too itchy to not be watching you” He tells Lachlan, who just shrugs and shuffles over, the two of them nearly in sync with their box opening.

Lachlan was right, Mitch is shivering a little even tucked between them, air con turned on low and blankets folded carefully around – just him, neither Jake nor Lachlan need to be any hotter right now and whatever they've each taken has settled them, both looking at him through lidded eyes and more relaxed expressions. 

He's not bothered when Mitch rolls towards Lachlan instead of him, the two of them snuggling against each other, shifting for several minutes until they must find a good spot, sighing and relaxing, still and quiet. Jake doesn't want to touch Mitch too much in case he makes him itchy, just strokes the very top of his head, curling his beach-styled hair through his fingers, pressing extra close against his back to try and absorb the shivers. 

They're both fast asleep and have been for hours when Morgan gets dropped off, peering cautiously around the door frame. 

“Have they eaten?” She whispers and Jake shakes his head no, couldn't convince either of them to have more than their water and he'd figured that was okay since Mitch would've made Lachlan if it was important. Although, he's not sure who'd make Mitch in this situation. 

He leaves them to help her downstairs, snacking on bits and pieces as they assemble a tiny plate for each of them. It's nearly dark now, the summer heat dropping just a bit. Jake feeds Otto, adds a couple of extra treats in his bowl for being such a good, quiet boy during all the chaos.


End file.
